


Twin Flames

by HopanForever2020



Category: General Hospital (TV 1963)
Genre: AU, Janelle "Nelle" Benson is Nina Clay's Daughter, Multi, Nina Clay & Janelle "Nelle" Benson, Nina Clay & Janelle "Nelle" Benson & Willow Tait, Nina Clay & Willow Tait, Willow Tait & Janelle "Nelle" Benson, Willow Tait & Janelle "Nelle" Benson are Twins, Willow Tait & Michael Corinthos III, Willow Tait & Sasha Gilmore, Willow Tait is Nina Clay's Daughter, mother/daughter relationships, sister relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29426091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopanForever2020/pseuds/HopanForever2020
Summary: All Nina wanted was to complete her broken necklace and get her babies back. All Nelle wanted was to be accepted by the sister she was robbed of. All Willow wanted was to protect her son. Three women with personal motivations in everything that they do, three women faced with tragedy and rejection. As truths are revealed and connections are made, they may finally find in each other what they all have desired for so long: a family.
Relationships: Carly Benson/Sonny Corinthos, Harrison Chase/Willow Tait, Michael Corinthos III/Sasha Gilmore, Nina Clay/Jasper "Jax" Jacks





	1. Prologue: Harmony's Pledge

My name is Lorraine Miller, but after I'm initiated into Dawn of Day, I will go by Harmony.

This is my pledge to join Shiloh's Trusted circle.

Kali is not my child. Not biologically.

I gave birth to a baby girl on June 15, 1993, but it wasn't Kali. Douglas and I named our little girl Destiny because we felt that her birth was fate. Before my pregnancy with Destiny, I had had two miscarriages and after my last one, I was told that it would be difficult to carry to term if I became pregnant again, so when I discovered that I was carrying Destiny, we were convinced that this was God giving us one last chance to be parents. We considered her to be a miracle.

But our miracle died overnight from some kind of medical condition, I don't know what it was or how long she had it, and I didn't care. All I cared about was that my baby girl, my Destiny, was gone before I could even truly know her.

Douglas and I were devastated, but we later learned that we were going to have a miracle after all. A blonde woman came to us in the hospital. She had come all the way from Florida. She told us that her daughter had just given birth to her children and was unable to care for them because she fell into a coma shortly after. She told us that Kali's twin sister was given to another couple, then she gave us what appeared to be one-third of a heart necklace, $100,000 in cash, and the most beautiful baby girl I had ever seen.

She was so small, only a newborn, and she had a healthy glow with pink cheeks. Her eyes were open and were the prettiest shade of blue I ever had the pleasure of seeing on a human being, like the ocean's water glittering beneath the sunlight. From what I could see, she had a tiny amount of brown hair peeking from her hospital cap. She was so perfect.

The woman told us to take the baby, the necklace, and the lump sum of money and to raise the new baby together, to give her a good home. I asked her if she had a name, but the woman said no. Her daughter hadn't even been able to hold her children before she fell into her coma.

Douglas and I were overjoyed. We took our new baby and as soon as we were cleared, we left the hospital, intending to raise her the way that we were advised to: with all of the love in the world.

I would never forget my Destiny, but I would always be grateful to the blonde woman who gave me my Kali.


	2. Chapter 1: A Startling Epiphany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The revelation of Nelle and Brad's ruse leads to a new discovery.

Nina Reeves sighed as she sat in her chair in her  _ Crimson  _ office, thinking once again about her missing children.

Children.

The nurse that had cared for her while she was in her coma, Phyllis, informed her the last time that they interacted that she had given birth to  _ two  _ babies, twin girls, instead of just the one she originally thought to be carrying. She had two daughters, but thanks to her mother, she didn't even know where they were. She thought that Sasha had been one of her missing children, but later learned that it had been a ruse, fabricated by Valentin Cassadine in one of his misguided attempts to win her back.

Thinking about it still made her furious, but all that fury was now directed at her ex, not Sasha. Sure, she had been hurt at first, absolutely destroyed, to learn that the young woman she called her daughter wasn't truly her daughter. Now, she understood why she did it. Sasha agreed to the idea not out of malice, but out of love, for the grandmother desperately in need of medicine and Nina herself, who Sasha had begun to love as a mother during the almost year that they had bonded. But, even with the love that was returning for her faux daughter….

Nina reached over to the top drawer of her desk, opening and reaching into it for the special little box that contained the only lead to her missing children. 

Nina took out the box, closed the drawer, and opened it to reveal one-third of a golden heart necklace. She had received this from her mother, Madeline, when the older woman died in prison from a heart attack, and was told that it would help her find her daughters. Her part was one of three: the other two had been given to the babies that Madeline had cruelly ripped from her before she could even hold them.

Nina lifted the necklace and gently pressed her lips to it, closing her eyes as she did so.  _ 'I'll find you, my babies,' _ she vowed.  _ 'I swear I'll find you.' _

"Nina!"

Nina jumped at the sudden call of her name, nearly dropping her necklace. Clutching it carefully in her fist, she placed it down on her desk, watching as Maxie Jones, her brother's widow and the mother of her nephew, rushed into the room.

"Maxie, what is going on? Is James okay?" Nina asked, her protective instincts instantly flaring at the thought of something happening to her nephew.

Maxie took a minute to catch her breath. "He's fine. Just as healthy and happy as always," she answered, reassuring her former boss.

"What's the problem?"

"It's not really a problem. It's...well…just look at this!"

Maxie practically shoved her cell phone, glowing with the front page of the newest article from  _ The Invader _ , into Nina's face. Taking a second for her eyes to adjust, Nina carefully inspected the article.

**'BABY SWITCH IN PORT CHARLES --- HEIR TO THE ELQ FORTUNE ALIVE WHILE GRIEVING MOTHER BURIES HER CHILD'**

Below the large, bold, printed words was a picture of the memorial given for Wiley Cooper-Jones, the real Wiley Cooper-Jones, and a picture of a devastated Willow Tait as she led the procession with her boyfriend, Detective Harrison Chase, walking loyally beside her.

Nina's heart panged in sympathy for the woman she had previously scorned. It was no secret to anyone in Port Charles how much she disliked Charlotte's teacher. The two of them had gotten off on the wrong foot when Willow had called her, Valentin, and Charlotte's mother Lulu in for a conference about Charlotte bullying Aiden Spencer. Looking back, Nina admitted that she had been the instigator in the majority of their confrontations, had shamed and belittled Willow's teaching ability when she only tried to help. Looking at the face pinched with grief and the blue eyes shining with tears of a woman who just discovered that the baby she spent over a year protecting wasn't even hers, Nina felt empathy for her. She knew exactly what the brunette was going through. Her twins may not be dead, but they were apart, and she understood the ache that Willow was undoubtedly experiencing at this very moment.

"What is there to look at, Maxie, other than a woman grieving her child?" Nina asked.

"That isn't important!" Maxie replied.

Nina's eyes snapped up, staring at Maxie in shocked outrage. How could she say something like that?? How could Willow's grief not be important?? The blonde felt a protectiveness for the young brunette stirring within her, a protectiveness that puzzled her given their negative history, but she wrote it off as commiseration for her tragedy.

Realizing how her statement could be misconstrued, Maxie backtracked, "I mean,  _ of course  _ it's important. Willow losing her child is awful, but  _ look _ !" Maxie pulled her phone from Nina's eyesight, enlarged the picture, then gave it back to her friend.

Nina felt her heart drop into her stomach once she finally understood just what it was that Maxie was trying to show her.

Right there, peeking out from the neckline of Willow's black dress, settled snugly against the base of her throat, was one-third of the heart necklace Nina owned.

"Oh my god," Nina whispered, placing a hand on her mouth as tears came to her eyes.

Willow Tait had one of the pieces to her necklace. Willow Tait was one half of the twins that were stolen from her.  _ Willow Tait was her daughter _ .

"Nina? Are you okay? Did I break you?" Maxie nervously questioned, staring at the woman sitting prone in her chair.

"She's my daughter," Nina breathed, her throat tightening as some of the tears fell. "She's one of my babies. My little girl, and I never knew. Oh,  _ God _ , Maxie! Do you know what this means??"

"Yeah. It means that you know who one of your daughters is," Maxie replied, giving Nina a wary stare.

"No!" Nina shouted. "It means that I tried to ruin my own child's life!"

"What?" Maxie asked. "What do you mean?"

But Nina didn't answer. Instead, she brought her portion of the necklace up to her lips and kissed it as if she were kissing her daughter's head, as if she were comforting the baby girl that should have been hers from the beginning, as if this action could erase the months of hateful words and accusations she had hurled towards Willow.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Nina murmured. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know."

She kept muttering those words to herself, repeating them even as Maxie talked to her, trying to get some answers for her reaction. Maxie didn't matter to her in that moment.  _ Crimson  _ didn't matter to her in that moment. Her budding relationship with Jax didn't matter to her in that moment. What mattered to her was her little girl, her Willow. 

Nina had to make amends with her daughter. She had to be a better mother to her than what she has been. She had to do right by the child she now knew was hers.

_ 'I'll make it up to you, baby girl. I promise.' _


	3. Chapter 2: Heart-to-Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina has a chat with her daughter.

"Now, Charlotte, remember that your grandmother is still recovering from her injuries. She's going to need to rest," Nina told her former stepdaughter as they exited the elevator. Valentin had business to take care of, so he called Nina to ask if she would take Charlotte to visit Laura, a request to which Nina readily agreed. She loved Charlotte and knew that the little girl needed to see her grandmother.

"I know, Nina, I'm just so happy to see Grandma," Charlotte replied.

Nina smiled at her as they approached the nurse's desk, where Elizabeth Baldwin was standing, going over her duties.

"Elizabeth," Nina called.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled. "Nina, Charlotte, hi! I'm guessing that you're here to see Laura."

Charlotte nodded enthusiastically. "Grandma could use some cheering up since she's still in here and Nina came with me so I could see her," she said.

Elizabeth's smile grew wider. "That was sweet of her. You can go on and see her, sweetie. Your uncle Nikolas is visiting with her right now. She's awake, alert, and more than happy to have a visit from her favorite granddaughter," she gave her a wink.

Charlotte giggled and grabbed Nina's hand, leading her to Laura's room. Just as they reached the door, Nina heard someone call out to Elizabeth, their tone frantic and worried.

Nina turned her head to see Chase rushing up to Elizabeth, a look of desperation painted on his face.

Her heart dropped and a nauseous feeling built in her stomach. Her daughter's boyfriend was in the hospital. Her beautiful, fragile, heartbroken daughter who was mourning her baby's loss and who was completely unaware of the fact that she had been adopted, stolen away from her true mother. If he was in the hospital, something must be wrong.

' _ No,'  _ Nina thought. ' _ Please don't let me lose my daughter after I've just found her. _ '

"Elizabeth, have you seen Willow anywhere?" Chase asked.

"No, have you checked the children's wing?" Elizabeth replied.

Chase nodded. "I checked there first. No luck," he said, still with that concerned expression on his face.

Nina stood motionless, watching as Elizabeth led the worried detective over to check the hospital's schedule. She was missing. Her daughter was missing and Chase had no idea where she was.

Elizabeth consulted the computer. "It says that she called in sick today," she informed.

Chase's body gave slightly and he reached out to grab ahold of the desk to steady himself. "She did?" He asked, a look of horror in his eyes as his voice rose slightly with misery. "When?"

"It doesn't say," Elizabeth murmured, then looked up and noticed Chase's despair. "Is something wrong?" The brunette was immediately filled with apprehension at the appearance of her friend.

Chase heaved a sigh. "She, uh, she lost someone very precious to her," he explained. Seeing Elizabeth's confusion, he continued, "the service for Wiley Cooper-Jones that was held a few days ago, the gravestone that used to have Jonah Corinthos' name engraved on it. That was her baby."

"Oh, God," Elizabeth whispered. "The baby that Brad and Lucas adopted that Nelle switched with her and Michael's. He was Willow's?"

Chase nodded. "He was. Nelle came up with the idea and Brad went along with it. Willow's been protecting who she believed to have been her son for over a year only to find out that he's been dead this entire time," his voice was grave as he answered the nurse.

Something hot coursed in Nina's veins when she heard Nelle's and Brad's names, something primal and angry, something that she hadn't felt since she awoke from her coma and learned that Silas had had another child during their marriage. _ 'They did this to her, _ ' Nina thought, enraged.  _ 'That psychotic bitch and that coward hurt my daughter. They made her believe that my grandson was still alive when he wasn't. She's suffering because of _ them.'

Clenching her fists, Nina swore to make Nelle and Brad pay for what they've done to her daughter, to her deceased grandson, and she wouldn't stop until they got what they deserved.

_ 'For Willow and Wiley,'  _ Nina vowed.

A tug on her hand broke Nina out of her vengeful haze and she looked down to see Charlotte staring curiously up at her. "Are you coming, Nina?" She asked.

Nina blinked at her, then noticed that the door to Laura's room was open and Nikolas was standing in the doorway, staring curiously at them.

Nina glanced back at Chase as he conversed with Elizabeth, at his worried face that only intensified as they discussed Willow's struggle with reality, and she made the only logical decision for her.

Turning back, Nina smiled at Charlotte. "I just remembered that I have something to do for  _ Crimson  _ that needs to be done by the end of the day or it won't be included in next season's magazine and I need to go to the office for it, but you go ahead and visit Laura, then Nikolas can call me and I can come back and we can spend time together. Does that sound good?"

Despite her disappointed expression that Nina wasn't coming in with her to see her grandmother, Charlotte gave her a wide grin and nodded. "That sounds really good," she responded.

Nina smiled and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead, watching as Nikolas led Charlotte into Laura's room. As soon as the door closed, Nina's smile faded and a serious expression came over her face. Turning on her heel, she marched determinedly over to Chase and Elizabeth.

"Detective Chase!" Nina called out, watching Chase's attention divert from Elizabeth to her upon hearing her voice.

"Ms. Reeves," Chase said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Call me Nina, please," Nina threw him a tentative smile. "I came here to bring Charlotte to her grandmother since Laura's still recovering. I overheard you saying that you think that Willow is missing. Why do you think that?" She tried to mask her voice so it didn't sound as desperate as she felt.

Chase exchanged a reluctant look with Elizabeth, a look that was understandable given Nina's history with Willow. Slowly, he explained, "She said that she was going to go into work today, that she  _ has  _ to work, but I've been looking for her everywhere in the hospital and she's not here. Elizabeth just told me that she called in sick and I'm worried," by now the confused look that he donned from Nina's unexpected concern for his girlfriend morphed into the same one of despair as before.

"Do you have any idea where she is?" Nina asked. This time she couldn't help some of the desperation that bled through her voice.

Chase went silent for a few minutes, partly due to the shock from Nina's own distress and partly in his attempt to recall where Willow could have gone. Finally, realization dawned in his eyes and he spoke, "She's seeing Wiley."

From the look on his face and his solemn tone, Nina knew that he wasn't referring to Michael's son Wiley. "I'll go check on her," Nina volunteered, taking the chance to comfort her daughter the way that she wanted since discovering their connection.

Chase's eyes widened, struck dumb by Nina's offer. His mouth moved fruitlessly for a few moments before nervously clearing his throat and asking her, "Are you sure that's a good idea, Nina? You and Willow have never seen eye-to-eye, and that's putting it mildly."

Nina flinched slightly at the reminder of how horribly she treated Willow. "Chase, please. My children may not be with me right now, but I know what it feels like to have your flesh and blood ripped from you. It hurts more than words can describe, and I wouldn't say this if I didn't think that I could help her," her sincerity shone in her words as well as her face. Despite her need to make amends with her child, Nina also wanted to find Willow because she  _ did  _ know some of the grief that Willow was experiencing. She may not have voluntarily given her daughters up for adoption, but they were still taken from her, and though she found Willow despite her other twin's identity and whereabouts continuing to be a mystery, the pain she felt from being unable to consciously give birth to them or hold them or name them or even to raise them threatened to overwhelm her on a daily basis.

Chase's skepticism melted into something softer at hearing Nina's words and he nodded.

"Thank you," Nina breathed. With that, she hurried towards the elevator, intent on finding and comforting her daughter.

***

Willow slowly kneeled down onto the snowy ground, feeling the bitter coldness of it chill her knees through her jeans but not caring. She stared unseeingly at the little tombstone for a moment before she reached tentatively for it, not stopping until she felt the icy marble beneath her fingertips.

She slowly moved her hand from side to side when she made contact, brushing off the snow that had accumulated there. When it was clear and she could read the name (despite knowing just  _ who  _ was buried beneath), she felt her heart break just a little bit more.

**'BABY WILEY COOPER-JONES**

**FEBRUARY 22, 2020'**

Willow swallowed past the lump in her throat, her swollen eyes once again stinging with tears. The name engraved on that stone used to be Jonah's, but since the truth came out, it was replaced by her son's.

Her sweet, beautiful, little son who was alive and ready to go home with his new fathers and then was dead in his crib the same night. Her son who obviously never meant as much to Brad as he claimed since he gave him to Nelle Benson to use in her twisted little game against Michael and his family.

Her baby boy who she only got to hold  _ once  _ before she gave him up for his own protection.

"Hi," Willow whispered, wincing as she heard the hoarse quality of her voice. "I'm sorry I haven't been by to see you since your….your reburial….I've been hesitating, not wanting to face the truth, but I have to, don't I?

"I never thought that this would be the way I would meet you again. All this time, I thought that you were with Lucas and Brad, that you were happy and safe and comfortable. I never could have imagined that you were here…...buried underneath all this dirt and snow with a name that wasn't even yours."

Tears slid down Willow's cheeks, but she hardly noticed them. She cried so much within the last few weeks that she barely registered it now. Her heart panged painfully as the glacial winter Port Charles wind froze the salty liquid on her face. It took all she could not to break down right there.

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered, wrapping her arms around her waist as if trying to protect herself from what she already knew. "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you. I failed you, baby, and I am so,  _ so  _ sorry," her words broke off into a sob and for the thousandth time since discovering what really happened the night Michael's son was born, she cried. She cried until her vision blurred and she could barely breathe, her breaths coming in short gasps.

"Willow?"

Willow's head snapped up and she turned to see Nina Reeves standing there at the cemetery gate, staring at her in concern.

"Ms. Reeves, what are you doing here?" Willow asked as Nina came over to her.

"Chase came by the hospital looking for you while I brought Charlotte to see her grandmother. He said that he hadn't seen you at all and I was worried about you," Nina answered, slowly lowering herself onto the frosty ground beside the younger woman.

"I don't understand," Willow said slowly. "Why would you be worried about me?"

Nina winced slightly. ' _ She's perfectly within her rights to ask that question _ ,' that traitorous voice in the back of her head spitefully chimed in. ' _ You treated her like she was worthless, you terrible mother. _ '

"I know what it's like to have your baby taken from you, Willow," Nina said softly. "I gave birth to two baby girls and they were both stolen from me by my mother."

"But your babies are still alive," Willow said. "Mine is…" she trailed off, swallowing hard as she gazed back at the little tombstone.

Nina followed her gaze and saw the name of Willow's baby, her grandbaby, and once again she felt that pain of loss hit her. Her grandson is here, her daughter was right in front of her, and yet they were both still so far away.

Nina gently took Willow's hand, drawing her attention from the marker to her. "My babies are alive, yes," Nina spoke softly still as not to alarm or overwhelm the brunette. "But they're still gone. I have no idea where they are or how they're doing, what kind of lives they had, if they're safe. I think about them every day and I still feel their loss."

Willow's eyes filled with tears again. "I should have known that he was gone, I should have taken better care of him, I should have…" she trailed off again as her throat closed up.

"Don't do that to yourself," Nina brought her hands up to gently cup Willow's face, surprising the former teacher but Nina noticed with glee that she didn't pull away. Instead she sat there, staring at her with a look that she couldn't quite describe.

' _ Could it be that she somehow recognizes her mother's touch? _ '

"You can't play the should have game. By all accounts, I should have known my mother's plans. I should have never trusted her. I should have known somehow that my miscarriage didn't really happen and that my babies were still alive, but I didn't because I can't afford to play that game. Thinking about all of those scenarios in which I should have done things differently doesn't change what happened to me. The only thing I can do is move forward, and that's what you need to do, too," Nina told her, brushing a few locks of brown hair that stuck to her face behind her ear.

"What if I can't?" Willow choked out.

Nina felt her heart break all over again for her little girl, the rage towards Nelle and Brad flaring even brighter for the damage they've caused. "I'll help you," Nina promised.

Willow's eyes widened as shock temporarily replaced the grief in her eyes.

"I know that we haven't gotten along in the past, Willow, and I admit that a lot of that is because of me, but I want to try to make up for that by helping you through this. Will you let me do that?" Nina pleaded, staring into her daughter's eyes with all of the earnestness that she could muster.

Willow opened and closed her mouth a few times, struck by the kindness that the woman who always scorned her was showing in this moment. Unable to say anything, she nodded, a sliver of hope blooming in her chest at the thought that she and Nina could finally form some semblance of peace.

Nina smiled and surprised the brunette again by bringing her into a hug.

Willow froze for a moment before she found herself returning the embrace, burying her face into the blonde's shoulder. She craved a mother's touch, a mother's love, for so long that she was willing to take it from anyone, even from Nina.

Nina's eyes shone with joyful tears as she felt Willow accept the olive branch she was extending. Maybe she hadn't screwed up with Willow as much as she thought she did. Maybe there was hope that she could form a relationship with her daughter after all she's done to her.

Maybe they could both have a second chance to have the family they always wanted.


End file.
